"We
consider today the somber issue of providing services to those who have
served, and to do so with dignity and respect and honor." -- Rudy de Leon,
Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

Such
were the sentiments November 17, 1998 as the Military Funeral Honors Executive
Roundtable met to find ways to increase military presence at veterans'
funerals. Chaired by de Leon, the meeting brought together DoD and Department
of Veterans Affairs officials, as well as representatives from veterans
and military service organizations and funeral industry associations --
all key players in coordinating and providing military support to funerals.

DoD
has been criticized in recent years for not being able to provide requested
support for veterans' funerals. The problem, DoD officials said at the
meeting, is a large, aging population of veterans vs. a downsized military.

One
quarter of the 26 million veterans alive today are over 65, and the number
of veteran deaths is steadily rising, particularly among World War II and
Korean War veterans. VA statistics show about 456,000 veterans died in
1989. By 1997, there were 537,000 veteran deaths -- an 18 percent increase
that averages out to about 1,500 funerals per day. VA projects the death
toll will rise through 2008 to about 620,000 per year.

At
the same time requests for funeral details have risen, DoD has shrunk.
Since 1989, the active force has fallen from 2.1 million to 1.4 million.
About 365,000 service members are stationed overseas, and as many as another
100,000 are deployed on contingency operations. Similarly, the reserve
components have gone from 1.2 million to 900,000 since 1989. In addition,
77 U.S. installations have closed since 1989, and 20 more will close by
2001. Funeral details, in many cases, now have to travel greater distances
to provide support. Still other obstacles include shrinking memberships
in the veterans and military service organizations that have provided honor
guards when DoD personnel are not available, and the fact all services
coordinate and support military funerals in different ways.

An
internal DoD examination of 9,800 requests for funeral support received
from June 1 through Sept. 30 this year helps illustrate the problem, according
to Gail McGinn, principal director for personnel support, families and
education at the Pentagon. About 23 percent of those requests could not
be fully supported, she said, and 2 percent received no support. She said
the goal now is to make sure that 2 percent is reduced to zero. As a result
of the Nov. 17, meeting, DoD is now examining a host of options that received
wide support during discussions.

Among
the options are:

o Creation
of a national toll-free phone number to centralize all requests for funeral
support from families and funeral directors.

o Establishment
of a national volunteer network of veterans who can be called upon to provide
funeral support when military teams are not available.

o Setting
of standard minimum requirements for funeral support.

After
the meeting, de Leon said he was encouraged by the spirit of cooperation
among agency representatives. He added that DoD is committed to working
with Congress to balance the need to properly honor veterans with the increasing
demands being placedon
military personnel in the current strategic environment. DoD is required
to report to Congress by March 31, 1999, on its plans to improve military
support for funerals. Provisions in the 1999 National Defense Authorization
Act require DoD to provide or arrange for an honor detail at the funerals
of all veterans beginning Jan. 1, 2000.

Regardless
of the eventual solutions reached to properly honor the nation's veterans,
the urgency of the situation was perhaps best summed up midway through
the meeting by Arlington National Cemetery Superintendent Jack Metzer:
"In the short time we havebeen
here in this morning, we've probably had 200 veterans die across the country."